David Meltzer
| birth_place = Rochester, New York | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = | nationality = | ethnicity = | citizenship = United States | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = | partner = | children = | relatives = | influences = | influenced = | awards = Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award, 2008 | signature = | website = | portaldisp = }} David Meltzer (February 17, 1937 - December 31, 2016) was an American poet and musician of the Beat Generation and San Francisco Renaissance. Lawrence Ferlinghetti described him as "one of the greats of post-World-War-Two San Francisco poets and musicians."quoted in the back-cover blurb in the Penguin Selected Poems from 2005, David's Copy Life Youth Meltzer was born in Rochester, New York, the son of a cellist and a harpist. In 1940, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York City. At the age of 11, he wrote his earliest poem, on the topic of the New York City subway system. He performed on radio and TV in the Horn and Hardart Children's Hour. The family moved once again to Rockville Center. His parents separated, and he accompanied his father to Los Angeles in 1954. Career In 1957, he moved to San Francisco and became part of a circle of writers based around Jack Spicer and Robert Duncan. In 1958, he recorded an album of his poems with a jazz combo for Jim Dickson on Dickson's Vaja label. The album was not released but finally saw the light of day in 2006 on Sierra Records titled "David Meltzer: Poet with Jazz 1958." Jim Dickson had earlier recorded Lord Buckley, Lenny Bruce and the Page Cavanaugh Trio. Later Jim would be A&R producer for World Pacific and Elektra Records as well as discovering and producing the rock group, the Byrds. Meltzer came to prominence with inclusion of his work in the anthology, The New American Poetry, 1945-1960. In 1968, Meltzer signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.“Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” January 30, 1968 New York Post Meltzer taught at the New College of California in the Poetics Program,. which was originally founded by Robert Duncan. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Writing One of the key poets of the Beat generation, Meltzer is also a jazz guitarist, Cabalist scholar, and the author of more than 50 books of poetry and prose. 2005 saw the publication of David's Copy: The selected poems of David Meltzer (edited by Michael Rothenberg and with an introduction by Jerome Rothenberg), which provides a current overview of Meltzer's work. Meltzer's Beat Thing (La Alameda Press) is his epic poem on the Beat generation. Jack Hirschman said of it: Meltzer's other books include, No Eyes, poems on Lester Young, and a book of interviews, San Francisco Beat: Talking with the Poets (City Lights Books). Death He spent most of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area. Meltzer died on December 31, 2016, after suffering a stroke at his home in Oakland. Publications Poetry *''Poems''. San Francisco: Donald & Alice Schenker, 1957. *''Ragas''. San Francisco: Discovery Books, 1959. * The Clown: A poem. Larkspur, CA: Semina, 1960. * The Process. Berkeley, CA: Oyez, 1965. * The Dark Continent. Berkeley, CA: Oyez, 1967. * Round the Poem Box: Rustic & domestic home movies for Stan & Jane Brakhage. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow, 1969. * Yesod. London: Trigram Press, 1969. * Greenspeech. Goleta, CA: Christopher Books, 1970. * Luna. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow, 1970. *''Knots''. Bolinas, CA: Tree Press, 1971. *''Bark: A polemic''. Santa Barbara, CA: Capra Press, 1973. *''The Eyes, the Blood''. Berkeley, CA: Mudra, 1973. *''French Broom''. Berkeley, CA: Oyez, 1973. * Hero / Lil. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow, 1973. *''Blue Rags''. Berkeley, CA: Oyez, 1974. *''Harps''. Berkeley, CA: Oyez, 1975. *''Six''. Santa Barbara, CA: Black Sparrow, 1976. *''The Name: Selected poetry, 1973-1983''. Sant Barbara, CA: Black Sparrow, 1984. * Arrows: Selected poetry, 1957-1992. Santa Rosa, CA: Black Sparrow, 1994. * No Eyes: Lester Young. Santa Rosa, CA: Black Sparrow, 2000. *''Beat Thing''. Albuquerque, NM: La Alameda Press, 2004. * David's Copy: The selected poems (edited by Michael Rothenberg). New York: Penguin, 2005. * When I Was a Poet" San Francisco: City Lights, 2011. ISBN 978-0-87286-516-7 Fiction *''Agency''. North Hollywood, CA: Essex House, 1968. * The Agency Trilogy (edited by Richard Kasak). New York: Masquerade Books, 1994. * Orf. North Hollywood, CA: Essex House, 1968; New York: Rhinoceros Books, 1993. * Under. New York: Masquerade Books, 1995. Non-fiction *''Journal of the Birth''. Berkeley, CA: Oyez, 1967. *''Golden Gate: Interviews with 5 San Francisco poets''. Berkeley, CA: Wingbow Press, 1976. Collected editions *''We All Have Something to Say to Each Other: Being an essay entitled Patchen and four poems''. San Francisco: Auerhahn, 1962. Edited *''The San Francisco Poets''. New York: Ballantine, 1971. * The Secret Garden: An anthology in the Kabbalah. New York: Seabury, 1976; Barrytown, NY: Station Hill of Barrytown, 1998. * Birth: An anthology of ancients texts, songs, prayers, and stories. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1981. * Death: An anthology of texts, songs, charms, prayers, and tales. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1984. * Reading Jazz. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1993. * Writing Jazz. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1999. * San Francisco Beat: Talking with the poets. San Francisco: City Lights, 2001. Journals * Two-Way Mirror: A poetry notebook. Berkeley, CA: Oyez, 1977. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:David Meltzer, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 12, 2014. Audio / video *''David Meltzer Reading'' (cassette). Milwaukee, WI: Membrane Press, 1980. Discography *The Serpent Power, Serpent Power (Vanguard Records, 1968) *Tina & David Meltzer, Poet Song (Vanguard Records, 1969). *The Serpent Power/Tina & David Meltzer, Serpent Power/Poet Song (reissue, Comet/Akarma Records, 1996). See also *San Francisco Renaissance poets *Beat poets *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Poems *"The Art, The Veil" *David Meltzer b. 1937 at the Poetry Foundation *David Meltzer @ EPC (Electronic Poetry Center) ;Audio / video *David Meltzer at YouTube ;Books *David Meltzer at Amazon.com * ;About *David Meltzer Official website *[http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100606360&fa=description When I Was a Poet description, reviews and purchasing information] ;Etc. *The David Meltzer Papers at Washington University in St. Louis Category:1937 births Category:American poets Category:American Jews Category:American tax resisters Category:Beat Generation writers Category:Living people Category:20th-century poets Category:Beat Generation poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Jewish American writers Category:Jewish poets Category:San Francisco Renaissance poets